How did the early church pray? What were their practices? How can we learn from the spiritual blueprint set by the first followers of Jesus?
Join us for a short series on Lectio 365 as we pray through Acts 2:42-47, seeking to learn from the patterns of prayer, teaching, time, awe, and wonder.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
It is the day of Pentecost. Peter is coming to the end of the message he has been preaching to the multi-ethnic crowd which had gathered on the streets of Jerusalem. “Brothers, what should we do?” his hearers ask. Peter replies, “Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38).
It is, after all, the evidence of this Gift of the Spirit given to the 120 who had gathered in the upper room where they had been ‘devoting themselves with one mind to prayer’ which had drawn the questioning crowd in the first place. Now Peter exhorts them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” (Acts 2:40). As a result, ‘those who welcomed his message were baptised, and that day about three thousand persons were added.’
What follows is a description of the way in which salvation (evidenced by repentance, baptism, and the reception of the Spirit) is translated into the practical life of the infant church. What follows is the blueprint for the common life of the Christian community…
Join us on Lectio 365 for morning prayers from Monday 9th June
